Longevity of men capable of prolonged vigorous physical exercise: a 32 year follow up of 2259 participants in the Dutch eleven cities ice skating tour.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the long term survival of a group of athletes taking prolonged vigorous physical exercise to that of the general population.


METHODS
Follow up of a cohort of participants in the Dutch eleven cities ice skating tour (a race and recreational tour) over a distance of 200 kilometers.


METHODS
Data on participation from the organising committee and data on mortality from all municipalities in The Netherlands.


METHODS
2259 Male athletes.


METHODS
Comparison of all cause mortality in male participants in the tour with that in the general population of The Netherlands.


RESULTS
The standardised mortality ratio for all participants during 32 years of follow up was 0.76 (95% confidence interval 0.68 to 0.85), and 0.90 (0.48 to 1.44) for participants in the race, and 0.72 (0.60 to 0.86) for participants in the recreational tour who finished within the time limit.


CONCLUSIONS
The capacity for prolonged and vigorous physical exercise, particularly if the exercise is recreational, is a strong indicator of longevity.
van Saase
J L
JL
Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Leiden University Hospital, The Netherlands.
Noteboom
W M
WM
Vandenbroucke
J P
JP
D000328:Adult; D002423:Cause of Death; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008136:Longevity / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D010809:Physical Fitness; D011998:Recreation; D012861:Skating